I’ve spent a good amount of time in Europe with The Ex, Getachew Mekuria, and Melaku Belay (one of the best dancers I’ve ever seen), but seeing these videos of them bringing it in Ethiopia last week adds a whole new level of intensity & multi-faceted awesomeness to their ongoing project.
(Readers in Brooklyn Philadelphia and D.C. can catch The Ex and I this week.)
“Oleyo” – Kat sings in Amharic at an Addis music school, she’s turning into a star
I love the infectious careening space created here, dancers and musicians and crowd going up and up, plus Melaku and the audience guy’s Ethio-popping and locking:
I don’t like saxophones, but Getachew is a boss!
Damn! They took Mats Gustafsson with them this time! Mats + Getachew = maximum rock n’ roll!!! Looking forward to seeing them in Toronto minus Getachew unfortunately…
WOW! Thanks for sharing! Even as a Swede, seeing Mats G performing from time to time, I had missed about this collaboration. What a frenzy!? And those dancers are blazing hot! I remember I saw Aster Aweke in Stockholm a few years ago and she also had some amazing dancers, doing that crazy strobo-robot style!
i’m soooo glad you posted this. these vids are explosive.